May- Goals and the No Spend Year

May wasn't a great month, goal-wise.  I didn't achieve as much as I wanted to but there is always June!

Goal #1- Complete a No-Spend Year. 

This really wasn't difficult and I successfully completed another month!

Goal #2-  Establish a self-care routine. 

This has been my best goal this year.  I have really done well to discover what I need in order to take care of myself.  I hope to continue along this path because I find it has really helped me feel much more balanced.

Goal #3-  Say yes to family time.  

This goal has become easier as the year progresses.  I have learned to set boundaries and guard our family time.  We have had some fun experiences with just the 3 of us and we look forward to more!

Goal #4-  Start school in September.  

I have completed all that I can for this goal at this time.

Goal #5-  Learn more about traditional prayers and incorporate them into my prayer life.

I did well at this goal.  I have been using the more traditional prayers of my faith in my prayer life and it is going well.  I am happy that I have new ways to connect to God through these prayers.

Goal #6-  Establish a routine for the blog and stick to the blog's vision. 

I was worse at posting in May than I was in April!  Yikes!  However, I did purchase my own domain for my blog which got me really excited!  I have also sat down and worked out a blogging schedule that I will do my best to stick to.  I have actually put the blogging time onto our shared family calendar so that the time is carved out and mine.  It has worked well in the last week or so.  

How are your goals going?  Have you been able to stick to your resolutions?

High Five For Friday- 02.06.17

Happy Friday, everyone!  Normally, I would be pumped for the end of the week, but Miss. E has a stomach bug.  Poor kiddo.  We had a very busy last weekend and I am excited to share the highlights with you.  I am linking up with Tif (Bright on a Budget), Katie (Cup of Tea), Della (Della Devoted), and Becky (By BMG).

1.)  Miss. E is 3!  We had a fun birthday party last Saturday for Miss. E.  We did a Very Hungry Caterpillar theme.  Miss. E loved playing with all her friends and she liked her cake.

2.)  Hubby' family came up for the birthday and we got to see all of his brothers, including a brother that we haven't seen in a year.  It was nice to see his brothers and visit.  My brother also made it to the party.  I always love seeing him.

3.)  I had a disappointing day at work the other day, when it seemed that I would not be getting the vacation time off that I had requested.  Fortunately, when I discussed the issue with my manager we were able to work something out so that I could take the time off to do swimming lessons with Miss. E.

4.)  Miss. E got sick Wednesday evening.  Hubby has been great for making supper, doing dishes, going on grocery runs and helping me out so that I can focus on taking care of our daughter.  I appreciate the team effort, especially when our little one is so sick.

5.)  Yesterday kicked off my Peaceful Simple Fitness Challenge.  I am committing to being active every single day in June in an effort to get myself moving more.  You can read more about it here.  I will be posting to Instagram every day.  My handle is @peacefulsimplelifeblog and you can join in using #peacefulsimplefitness.

This is what I look like after working out with very little sleep.  Not the kick-off I planned, but at least it's done!

I hope you all have a lovely weekend!

30 Day Fitness Challenge

I like being active.  It isn't only good for the body.  I find that it refreshes and calms my mind.  I like outdoor workouts whenever possible and I also enjoy doing home work outs.  I have been trying my best to get active lately, but I haven't been getting as much exercise as I should.  I have decided to combat my lower activity level with a challenge!

For the whole month of June I plan to be active every single day.  Nothing seems to motivate me quite like a challenge.  If you want to see how I am doing with this challenge, you can follow me on Instagram @peacefulsimplelifeblog. If you want to join in, you can use the hashtag #peacefulsimplefitness.

Fitness comes in many forms.  I like quiet activities like walking my dog and yoga.  I also like doing more intense workouts with some running, biking, strength training, and HIIT workouts.   I will be counting any activity that I do in my challenge.  I hope to mix it up between quiet activities and more intense workouts.  It should be a fun (and challenging!) month.  I hope you will follow along and join in!

High Five For Friday- 26.05.17

Hello everyone!  It has been a while since I have participated in H54F!  This week has been quite lovely and I am happy to share my highlights with you.  I am linking up with Tif, Katie, Della, and Becky for High Five For Friday!

1.)  We had a long weekend last weekend.  (Monday was Victoria Day.)  We got our raised gardens planted, spent some time in the city grocery shopping, and even made it to the lake twice!  It was a wonderful weekend.  I wish I could bottle the feeling that we all get at the lake.  We always leave the cabin feeling refreshed, rejuvenated, and happy.  Miss. E loves the cabin and she never complains or whines when we are there.  It is lovely.

2.)  We have enjoyed 2 (!) yummy strawberries off of the strawberry plant that we are growing this year.  They were super sweet and tasted just like summer.  I am certainly looking forward to more strawberries over the summer!

3.)  I got in some reading over the weekend.  I have been enjoying the Seaside Knitters Mysteries.  I love a good mystery that isn't gory and doesn't kill off characters that I like.  I quite like this series.  I have also been reading The Best Yes.  I really enjoy reading Lysa TerKeurst's encouraging message about doing our best to discern the important "yes" moments in our lives.  I think that this is a struggle for everyone at some point in their lives and I really appreciate the message.

4.)  The weather has been GORGEOUS this week.  It has been warm (sometimes hot!) and calm.  I love being able to go outside and walk the dog.  I also love spending time in the evenings watering our garden and plants.  It has been relaxing and uplifting.

5.)  I have my own domain!  I finally figured things out (of course it was easier than I thought!).  I am excited to have my own little space on the internet.

I hope you all have a fabulous weekend!  I am excited to celebrate a very special little lady's 3rd birthday this weekend.  3!  Where does the time go?  

Hallway Closet Cleanout

It really doesn't take that long to tackle certain projects in our homes.  Often we dread a task and then put it off.  I was doing this with our hallway closet.  When you move you just want everything unpacked and put away.  Sometimes the places that we decide to put things don't end up working well once we live in the house for a little while.  Our hallway closet was this way.  I decided to tackle it one Sunday evening and was happy to find that it only took me 20 minutes to complete.

I have been doing a better job of keeping "like" items together so that I know exactly what we have and what we don't.  In my closet, I grouped together "like" items and gave them all a home.  We purged a few items (outdated medications, a cold pack that we never use) and moved a few items to where they belonged in other parts of the house.

Before:

After:

(Please feel free to ignore the shelf paper that is peeling off of the shelf!)

Organizing really takes a lot less time when you only own what you need and use.  I was so happy that there was very little to get rid of this time!  Striving for more simplicity in our lives has certainly taken a lot of the stress out of cleaning and organizing.

April- Goals and The No Spend Year

April was a pretty good month for my goals and resolutions.  It was also a busy month with Easter and Hubby's birthday.  I am happy with my progress and I am hoping that May will be even better!

Goal #1-  Complete a No-Spend Year.

Not spending money is becoming easier and easier.  I don't even really think about making purchases, which is nice.  Our home is currently lacking blinds and curtains, but that is the only thing that is really making me want to shop.  Otherwise, it hasn't been that challenging!

Goal #2-  Establish a self-care routine.

I was pretty good with this goal.  I was consistent with working out and staying on top of my water intake.  I completed my Whole 30 and will share my experience with you soon!

Goal #3-  Say Yes to Family Time.

This goal went well this month.  It was easier because there weren't many things challenging us in this department.  We had a lovely Easter with family and we even got to see my younger brother at the end of the month!

Goal #4-  Start School in September.

I talked to school this month and asked all of my questions.  I will likely apply in the summer and start in the Fall.  This goal will be at a standstill now until the summer when I apply to the program.

Goal #5-  Learn more about traditional prayers and incorporate them into my prayer life.

I have finished reading a book about traditional prayers, which I found really interesting.  I found the scriptural references and explanations to be informative. I hope to work on incorporating them into my prayer life this month.

Goal #6-  Establish a routine for the blog and stick to the blog's vision.

This month wasn't great for blogging.  I have done a little behind the scenes work, but I got a little stuck in some of the technical stuff.  I hope to be better about blogging this month and iron a few things out behind the scenes.

Enjoying the Moments

I have noticed such a lack of human interaction lately.  At work, everyone stares at their phones during break time.  When you go out to eat, diners stare at their devices rather than their dining partners.  You don't see many people "waiting" in line or for appointments without having their phones out.  I am not immune to this, but lately I have been much more intentional about setting my phone aside and simply enjoying the moments.  I don't want to look back and realize how much I have missed while staring at a glowing screen.

We, as humans, crave (and require) human interaction.  We need to make connections with family and friends.  This has ensured our survival and helps us to feel fulfilled as people.  Phones and devices can help with this, but often they are a hindrance.  We interact with people differently when it is in person, rather than through a text or Facebook post.

I have learned a few things about using my phone and tablet in an intentional way and I have gained a lot of enriching connections with my friends and family.  I want to share my (small) insights with you today.

1.)  I don't keep my phone on me at all times.  When I am home, my phone is often on the kitchen counter.  I also like to keep it on silent.  I especially like to have my phone on silent while driving because it is dangerous to use your devices while driving.  If I can't hear the notification, I don't feel any need to respond.  I also don't check the phone as frequently when it isn't on my person.  This keeps me from being distracted from my "real" life.

2.)  I do not make myself available to others at all times.  I don't respond to messages quickly and I don't worry about checking my phone for messages several times a day.  My friends and family are aware that if they need to get a hold of me, phoning my house is the best way to do it.  They don't feel entitled to an immediate response back to their text messages, because they know I don't make a habit of checking my phone constantly.

3.)  I put my phone away when enjoying time with others.  My phone stays away on date nights, coffee dates with friends and family functions.  I do use my phone as a camera, but often I will snap a quick picture or 2 of the event and then put it away.  I use my time with others to talk, connect and make eye contact.  I try my best to enjoy the moments that I get to spend with the people I love.  Leaving my phone in my bag is a good way to show another person how much you care about them and that you are truly paying attention to them.  This is invaluable for building strong relationships.

How do you keep your phone and other devices from stealing your moments?  Comment below.  I would love to hear your thoughts.